Atomic Lollipop 2012 Report!

Here we go again, the Meido don't stop! Atomic Lollipop is a small 2-day convention in it's 2nd year with a more laid back anime, fun, carnival atmosphere. This year it was on the weekend of July 14-15, 2012. We brought Cafe Delish to Atomic Lollipop this year after some persuasion from our friend, Kevin. It was in discussion for a bit and I actually didn't have too many details of the event until the week (and day before) it happened.

We were invited as guests to host a small 3 hour cafe seating serving drinks, cookies and cake on Saturday. Since it was a smaller event, only a few maids were needed for the cafe, so Yumi, Chiyou, Nana and I were there to represent! (*o*@)!

All Photo & Video Credits: Bosu

We also hosted a 萌え (Mo-e) Dance panel  and taught all the participants how to dance to Cafe Delish's version of Mune Mune Kyun. Initially, I wasn't sure how the panel was going to go and whether people would show up for it, but we had a good turn out and everyone learned the dance so quickly within an hour! They were all really amazing! Thanks to everyone who came to our panel (^__^)/*

Yumi and I sending some love to the rainbow cake!

We were serving complimentary lemonade and cookies from 2 - 5pm, but we also offered a 萌え package for $5 that included a slice of rainbow cake and iced tea. Whoever purchased that package got to play games with the maids and got a complimentary Cafe Delish pin badge. Bosu only bought 2 cakes thinking it wouldn't be that popular, but we ended up selling out of the cake! All the proceeds from the 萌え package went to the charity, World Wildlife Fund!

Serving tables

The cafe was more restaurant style since we would seat groups as they came and went. There wasn't a time limit, but everything seemed to move very smoothly. Since we were set up in the lobby (rather than outside in the blistering heat and super loud airplanes that would pass by), the chairs there served as a waiting area for other patrons. We only had 4 tables which sat around 3-4 people each, but in the picture above, we somehow managed to fit in 6 people plus their friend who came by to visit later on after I had served the cake and drinks!

Everything went along smoothly in my opinion! Our two volunteers were a great help and we were very grateful to have them (*o*♥)! We would perform some of our older maid dances to keep the energy up and play some random games with everyone.

Of course, after the cafe was done and we had packed everything away, it was time to eat! We all went to eat at Montana's next door in our maid outfits, which I thought was pretty amusing. We did stay behind to check out some of the panels and events happening at Atomic Lollipop. There was a Ferris wheel, bouncy castle, etc. set up in the second parking lot of the hotel. Sadly, we didn't stay behind for the fire show only because it was happening at midnight (>__<)"

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Here's the video from our dance panel! Everyone did so well! ♥

Overall, I had a great time and it was really fun. We made double the estimated amount for WWF and I'll do a post of the animals we've adopted for donating to WWF! Thanks for everyone for coming by to the cafe and for everyone's hard work to make it success!
 ♥

Welcome to @Home Cafe

I keep forgetting to post up some pictures from our trip to Japan, so here's another episode of our trip! On our designated lolita day, we set out to go to a maid cafe, specifically @Home Cafe Donki in Akihabara. There are two locations of @Home in Akiba, Donki signifies the one located in the Donquijote building (yes, I realized it's spelled funny). This one had a dining/living room, basically a seating area that the other locating didn't have.

Keiko and I waiting to be seated, @Home Cafe. Pic Credit: Bosu

It's better to go to a maid cafe with someone who speaks some Japanese. Although most cafes will have an English speaking maid, I think the experience isn't as genuine since it's a bit mistranslated. If you understand Maid Cafe culture, it's more cute and endearing. Being a maid at our annual charity maid cafe at Anime North, I've been infused with knowledge of this culture, (whether I liked it or not :P )

They do have an English menu, which helps, and they let you look at that while you are waiting to be seated. We had 5 people in our party, and only waited about 5-10 minutes at around 3pm that day.

The maids were very cute and were surprised that we all showed up in lolita!

My sister's Halloween dessert. That pumpkin was super cute!

Since it was a week and a half before Halloween, they had started to promote their Halloween special, which was a dessert (pictured above) and they had a card that went with it. If I recall, if you had the dessert 8 times, you could redeem the card to get a special picture with the maids or play a special game with them. The dessert was cubes of shortcake, drizzled with chocolate sause and orange syrup, with taro ice cream and strawberries and whip cream on top. The little cream puff pastry was decorated like a jack-o-lantern. It's looked really cute but my sister said it was a lot of weird flavors all in one. The dessert was 500 or 600yen, and it came with a cute sticker.

Interior of @Home Cafe. Pic Credit: Bosu

You're not supposed to take pictures inside the cafe, but we took a few anyways. Shh!

The way maid cafes work in Japan is that you pay an 'entrance sitting' fee and then you pay for your addition food items on top of that. The sitting fee for @Home is 700 yen. Drinks vary from 500-700 yen each and food is around 1200-1700 yen (I think, I don't recall exactly). There are different combo sets that usually work out to be a good deal, as they include a drink, food dish, and either a picture of you with your maid or some 'moe' candies. 

We ate before we went...so we all ended up ordering drinks or a dessert. Maid cafés aren't known for their food, it's more for the experience. When they give you the drinks, it's very cute. They have you send love to the drink/food before you eat. We were served by at least 4 different maids and they talked to us and asked us where we were from. Each maid has their own theme to make them unique, one girl was accessorized with Pikachu accessories!

My Polaroid and my Mistress card from @Home Cafe.

 We chose the option to take a Polaroid  with the maid of our choice. Since we couldn't read their names, they brought over a clip board with pictures of each of the girls and we pointed to who we liked. My maid started talking to me about lolita and whether I wore it at home, and with my horrible Japanese I manage to convey that I wore it sometimes. You're allowed to choose an item to take a picture with from a wall of plush toys and accessories. I picked the alpaca, because it's Awesome!

To take a picture with a maid is 500 yen.

When you go to @Home, you're presented with a Master card, every time you go visit their cafe, you slowly power up. Once you level up, you get a different card. The one I have is considered Bronze. The next table over, one of the guys had a Black one! I wonder how many times he went to get that one.../(>__<;)\*

The message Keiko and I left for the maid of @Home Cafe. Pic Credit: Bosu

One of the maids came around with a notebook and asked us to leave a 'memory' in it. Becca wrote an entry and then Keiko started writing hers. I just finished it up with a sentence in English and then drew a picture of us in our outfits so they could remember us ♥ 

Moe hand wipes and chopsticks.

 Before we left, they presented each of us with 'moe' chopsticks. It was really cute, except they're just take out chop sticks.. (^__^;;)* When I was packing to leave Japan I somehow ended up with all the wipes and chopsticks...

Each seating is about an 1 - 1.5 hours long, where you'll be served with your drinks / food, everyone in the room will play a game against the maids on duty, take your polaroids and have some conversation with your maids. We didn't opt to play the game because if you win you have to go up on their small stage and they talk to you in Japanese and you have to respond. I was also busy finishing up the drawing in the notebook. 

Overall, the experience was really fun. It's a shame none of us did the special drinks or food because I have heard that the presentation is super cute and over the top! I'm not particularly fond of the sitting fee because it add ups to your total. I only had a drink and took a polaroid with my maid and it cost me 1700 yen. 

I think I would go again for fun with some friends if the chance popped up though! 

So, see you soon @Home? ♥

Lolita Fashions - Pt. 1

Recently on my trip to Japan...I've really taken a liking to Lolita fashion. I've done Waloli and some casual lolita here at home at Anime North, but after this trip sparked something within me.

We had Lolita day where we all dressed up and had some fun walking around in Akihabara going into the various shops and puri-kura machines. It was really fun, but I noticed throughout the trip, I don't see to many lolitas out and about anymore. Granted, some of the areas we were going didn't have a high percentage of a chance to see them anyways LOL

Part of the reason we were dressing up was because we were going to the @Home Maid Cafe. I'll blog about that soon! It was very cute and interesting to go to a real maid cafe.. :)

Keiko and I waiting to be seated. @Home Maid Cafe, Japan.

Now, I'm an amateur when it comes to lolita fashion, but if I'm going to do it, gotta do it right! So we brought the stockings, extra dress shirts and our petticoat. Keiko and I did buy the dresses we're wearing above in Japan, but I did bring an extra one just in case I didn't find one for myself.

It's very interesting when I read and check out sites and forums about the fashion itself, how it's quite elitist. Different brands and prints all contribute to whether you're a 'legitimate' lolita or just a cheap 'cosplaying' one.

I've always loved Metamorphoses dresses and designs. They just have the most unique prints that capture my mind. Some are a bit strange, but I appreciate that the brand tries to think outside the box. I did get a Metamorphose dress towards the end of this trip. Probably one of their most beautiful prints in my opinion, the Swan Lake OP (one piece) dress.

Sleeves and bows are removable. Mine didn't come with the collar piece. I also bought the matching headband.

 

Detail of the print

I've got a soft spot for fantasy prints...it's horrible! I could probably spend a whole blog post talking about Metamorphose, but I won't! The only reason I went out on a limb to get this dress was because at the maid cafe, our maid commented us all on our dresses and asked where we got them from. To make it short, I was quite embarrassed when it was my turn and it was revealed my dress was a Bodyline dress. LOL God, I love Bodyline, but it's seen as the lowest of the low when it comes to Lolita shops. Even the maid laughed at me and did a really cute "Shhhh I won't tell" to us.

Aughhhhhhh, the embarrassment. *gets shot*

To make matters worse, when we were in Donki, they had a Bodyline section, and they had the exact same dress I was wearing. I was standing there, holding the same dress next to mine having a minor heart attack. That drove the nail into the coffin. It's bad when a maid laughs and jokes with you about your dress, but when you see it at one of the biggest thrift stores in Japan. That really hurts. :(

So, my unfinished business in Harajuku was to find a lolita dress (and to find some stuffed animals at Kiddyland). I was dead set on finding and buying one that day, even if it melted my credit card.

So, I have one brand dress in my closet and it's beautiful. Now I just need an occasion to wear it. That's the shame about living here in Toronto...the fashion is so...conservative. Need to have a lolita day with my friends so that we have group impact. If I do it myself...I'll just get weird stares. Which I'm used to anyways, because of cosplay. -__-'

Next Lolita Fashions post will be about Bodyline.

Anime North 2011 Report!

It's that time of year again! Another year has gone by and another year at Anime North under my belt. I just realized I've been going to this convention for a long time. I've never missed out on it either, I still make it for a day or two of the weekend, or for the whole thing.

This year, my friends Whitefrosty and Pheleon and I managed to nab tables in the Crafter's Corner. We had about 18ft of table space all lined up, and it was pretty intense. However, since I has promised my friends who run the maid cafe, Cafe Delish that I would be a maid this year, I somehow managed to do both with the help of my amazing friend, Amanda. LOVE & THANKS ♥.

It was a pretty hectic weekend and I think I lost weight from the 1)starvation, 2) lack of sleep, 3) drunken craziness which also induced lack of sleep and starvation 4) and lots of running back and forth from the con center to the hotel.

Friday was pretty funny since I was trying to fit all the stuff into my car, along with all the overnight suitcases from my sister, Amanda's, Alice's and mine into the car! I had to upgrade and use the SUV instead of my usual hatchback that I have claimed as mine... lol. 

Somehow it all miraculously fit with a lot of smushing and I think Alice and her friend Kim were a bit uncomfortable in the back...but I guess it beats busing to the con?

Since my sister and I were staff this year, we didn't have to go through the line up to get our badges. It was a pretty long line! We also checked in for the hotel room and set up the stuff. I had agreed to help promote the cafe at the open ceremonies with a few fellow maids and our head maid, Yumi. But since registration opened for the CC at 3pm, and I had to meet them at 3pm...I was running around like crazy to bring in all my shelves and the merchandise. My sister and her boyfriend, along with my other friend Kevin helped set up the table display very well!! I was very impressed. Amanda showed up at some point was away from the table and at the ceremonies. 

A shot of Delilah with some of the merchandise while my friends and sister helped me set up my table while I was running around like a crazy person. 

The opening ceremonies was interesting to say the least. We danced to the old dance that we decided not to use this year at the cafe and the other girls were nervous about being on stage. Being a cosplay veteran and just used to it by now, I just told them it would be fine, You don't even see the people once the lights come on! After some initial delay we got on stage and did our thing. We were asked to stay around to help welcome the guests by bowing and stuff and to make sure the guests didn't fall off the stage LOL. 

 Open Ceremonies, Final Pose. Photo Credit: Derwin Mak.

The other girls came after to start the flyer run to promote the cafe, I walked back with them and went to my table to see it nicely set up :D

Pic: Courtesy of Alice, Whitefrosty

I called it the jail cell...cause it essentially made it look like some of my plushies were in jail. LOL Worked out well thought since I could monitor the plushies better and have a nice shop keeper opening in the center. It was very cosy...however I think my hearing was just getting steadily worse over the weekend. People would ask about the plushies or my BJDs and I swear I would just not hear the right thing. My apologies if I was a bit dazed and confused. As the weekend progressed, it just got more and more tired. There's only so much adrenaline I have to keep me going.

Friday was good though in terms of sales :) Well, the whole weekend was a pretty good success. Moving on to the rest of the report! After the CC closed, Kevin, Amanda and I went to go eat some dinner since we were starving. Hanh met up with us at Sushi Dragon where we sat and ate for a bit. We were there until midnight. . . I felt bad for being one of the last customers there but I am glad they let us come in and eat though. We were turned away at the other sushi restaurant across the street. 

When Saturday morning rolled around, I had to get up early and go to the CC area with Amanda to set up the table. After some milling about and her forgetting her pass, but with my godly Staff powers, I got her to come in with me to at least drop off the items we carried over, she ran back from the buildings to the hotel room to get her pass. Everything was set up before I left her and I ran back to the hotel to get dressed for the cafe. It was so bad cause once I walked into our room, Yumi came by and told me the other girls and her were going downstairs to practice a bit. I was like OMG, I'M NOT READY. LOL After some super sonic changing I managed to find them without being too late. I have the dances ingrained into my memory..but it's still nice to perfect it if we have time to and to get the timing right. Before I met up with them, I walked by the Terrace Room where the cafe would take place to ask my Overlord Boss some questions, and this rude lady thought she could talk her way into getting tickets earlier than the rest of the people in line! It says in the program book that the tickets go on sale at 11:30am. It was 10:30, and apparently she had somewhere else to be and she couldn't stay longer to get tickets for her daughters. 

Now, we can't change the rules and start selling a ticket to one person, because that means we would have to sell the rest to all the people out there and the room wasn't even set up yet! I don't understand people who think they have priority over everyone else when the rules are clearly stated. Unless it was a serious do-or-die circumstance, exceptions won't be made because it would be unfair to everyone else out there who have been waiting for a couple hours!

We don't make people line up for the cafe, it just happens because it's popular and is a ticketed event. That lady got so angry and started criticizing the cafe. I left before that since I had to meet up with the other girls, but she was pretty much told to get out if she has somewhere else to be.

Picture credit: Stephanie

The cafe went very well! I was more relaxed this year since I was a returning maid...no pre-event butterflies. Overall it's quite simple and you just have to remember to say the right drinks and food. And make sure you don't spill or drop said drinks and food. 

Here's me at the first seating serving some roll cakes. You can see my pin flair that we create for the guests. For the last two years we have been designing and selling pins to help raise some more funds for Sick Kids. This year however, all the pin donations were donated to Japanese Relief.

Picture credit: Stephanie

By the last seating, Hanh and I were getting very tired since our breaks were very late. I wanted to go back to check up on the table in the CC but we ended up just getting some cold drinks from the staff lounge and crashing in our hotel room. It was so nice and cold...I think we did a small power nap before we had to go back to the cafe. Behind the scenes at Cafe Delish! Power naps to Power Up!

By the end of the cafe, I was very tired and hungry, so after taking some pics with the girls at the end, I went over to con center and told Amanda to pack up and we were going to eat and stuff. I think she was quite relieved since she was there the whole day by herself. I felt bad...so I don't think I'll ask her to do this again unless I'm actually with her. She didn't come with us to our core-staff wrap up dinner at Moxie's so I just left her my hotel key card and let her do her own thing. I think she really wanted to shop LOL.

My friends. Adam, Hanh and I ended up doing the booze/beer run since the others didn't want to move their cars from their spots and I didn't care so long as the car was in the hotel parking lot and not getting trashed at the con center. So, we made a trip and got some stuff for the night party. It was amusing to walk back to our rooms with two bags filled with boozy things after dinner... lol

Then, it started getting Out of Control. LOL

Basically to make it short..and sort of sweet, the 3 of us who did the booze run were just being crazy the whole night during dinner and at our 'after party'. We were just making up scenarios of like gag cafe personas and it spiraled out of control cause once we got back and started drinking, everyone got really into it. It was really funny and after a lot of drinks and my friends trying on my lolita dress and accessories and some wig fun, I had to stop and sleep since we all had to wake up in the morning to check out.

And let's say, 4 of us woke up with bad hangovers.  I don't regret it cause it was fun, but I wish I could have gotten more sleep cause I don't think I would have felt as bad as I did in the morning if I could continue sleeping it off. 

Hanh and I had it the worst though...for some reason we just felt miserable. I had to ask my sister to go get me some greasy food to tame my head and my stomach..since grease seems to help with hangovers.

However, sitting at the CC table was alright on Sunday since it was more relaxed and there were a bunch of us to help me man the table. I finally went into the Dealer's room on Sunday, the first time in the whole weekend! The only things I purchased were two mangas...to continue my growing collection of Ouran High School Host Club. I'm missing the most recent two books...but that doesn't concern me too much..since it seems to be a trend that I'm just always two books behind in the series. I said hi to some old cosplay friends and chatted with them :)

I met quite a few BJD owners on Sunday and chatted with them about their dolls and companies. It's nice to see other dolls in person and meet other owners. My kids were having a good time chilling with Alice's thought for the weekend. Ventus and Mishka are BFFs. 

Photo shamelessly stolen from Alice. My camera has blackmail pics and I had used my sister's camera to take pictures. . .

Then the weekend came to an end. We packed up, did some car pooling and after a nice dinner the weekend came to an end. I was very happy to be home and to sleep for almost 12 hours. 

Overall, I had a great time this year at AN. The people that were around and just the fun that we create for ourselves, it really helps with the atmosphere. I noticed the cosplays were very good this year too! Sometimes I miss not cosplaying anymore..as I haven't done so at AN for a few years, but I just didn't have the time this year to make anything. 

Nice seeing old friend and making some new friends! I've sold some of my merchandise, ate some good food and didn't mess up my dancing at the cafe. We beat last year's mark for the donations for Sick Kids which is a great accomplishment for Cafe Delish. 

Now it's just time for me to clean up the house and to eat, sleep and relax a bit.

Cheers!

♥